Uplifting SOTU but Obama immigration raids tell different story

by DRM Action Coalition | January 12, 2016

New York, NY – Tonight was President Obama’s final State of the Union speech. In response, the Dream Action Coalition has issued the following response:

“Whenever we talk about Obama, for immigrants, it’s a bit of a complicated discussion,” said Carlos Vargas, Co-Director of Dream Action Coalition. “On the one hand there is DACA and DAPA, a huge benefit for a narrow portion of the immigration community; but on the other there’s record setting deportation rates, further private sector detention facility growth and the recent immigration raids on Central American families has put a panic in the community. This is all coming from a President who promised to get reform passed in his first year, but has often made our issues the first he sacrifices to pursue other parts of his agenda.”

“Obama has said that immigrants aren’t the reason wages haven’t gone up, and while we appreciate the acknowledgement, the action from the executive branch often has not reflected the tone of his rhetoric,” said Hina Naveed, Co-Director of Dream Action Coalition. “There’s still one year, however, to push DACA and other policies as Obama leaves office that will help soften the deportation legacy, so we’ll see how the last of his policies develop.”